Favouring Lando now isn’t an anti-Piastri conspiracy, it’s the right thing to do

3 months ago 4

By Luke Slater

November 25, 2025 — 11.33am

McLaren have spent the 2025 season aiming for total fairness between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. At times, it has made them look silly and inflexible. It was, though, merely an intriguing subplot at a time when one of their drivers seemed destined to claim a maiden title.

So vast was their advantage in performance that Max Verstappen was 97 points behind Piastri and 86 behind Norris after the Hungarian Grand Prix in August.

Yet after McLaren’s double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, combined with Verstappen’s rapid resurgence, they are now at risk of losing out on a first drivers’ title in 17 years to the brilliant Verstappen. To have the best chance of ending the Red Bull driver’s hopes, they must now favour Norris and sacrifice Piastri.

Australian Oscar Piastri has struggled to get points and podiums in the second half of the season.

Let me state now, there is zero chance of this happening. McLaren have gone to such lengths this year to maintain equity, and Piastri can still theoretically win the title. The team might also feel that it would give validation to the incorrect and ugly narrative that they have been favouring Norris all season.

But too many times McLaren have become entangled in their philosophy to their own detriment. They must avoid it costing them a title. For all that the constructors’ championship brings the money, the drivers’ title brings the prestige.

Do McLaren have to make this decision now? There is a chance that, without intervention, Norris finishes far enough ahead of his rivals in Qatar that he eliminates one or both of them from contention, or that it leaves him needing to score just a handful of points in Abu Dhabi to claim the title. That way they avoid both an awkward conversation with Piastri and any turbulence in the team.

Yet with just two rounds left, including a sprint race (this weekend in Qatar), errors from driver or team in any number of areas could have a disproportionate effect on McLaren’s hopes. For McLaren to maximise their chances of winning the drivers’ title they need Piastri to work for his team-mate as soon as possible. Norris is the man with the points advantage, Verstappen is the one with the momentum. The out-of-form Piastri, sadly, should be what gives.

A combination of factors justify such a decision. Firstly, 24 points is a decent but not enormous lead with 58 available. As it stands, Norris could lose the title to Verstappen without any disastrous results or non-finishes. If the Dutchman wins the sprint and two grands prix and Norris finishes third in all of them, then the Briton will squeak through by just two points. That shows how tight it is. This margin is put into sharper focus by the direction of travel. Earlier in the season, Verstappen won the odd race and would generally finish behind both McLarens. How that has changed.

Even if the McLaren result in Las Vegas stood, Verstappen’s total from Monza onwards would be 161 points, with Norris on 125 and Piastri with 69. That is Verstappen taking, on average, 5.1 points from Norris every race weekend. That rate is enough to see Norris crowned, yes, but it underlines that the Red Bull in Verstappen’s hands has been more than a match for the McLaren of late. Not every weekend (Norris won in Mexico and São Paulo), but in general.

As for Piastri? His form and seemingly his confidence have collapsed. He has not finished on the podium since the Italian Grand Prix. His qualifying pace has disappeared, and he is being regularly beaten not just by Norris and Verstappen but also George Russell, Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc. It is staggering to think he held a 34-point lead over Norris (and 104 over Verstappen) after Zandvoort. It would be hard on Piastri and certainly a difficult and awkward conversation to have after such a strong first part of the season. Making ruthless decisions is part of competitive sport, though, and a driver sacrificing self-interest for the team is a part of F1.

What could Piastri be told to do?

What might prioritising Norris look like? On one end of the scale are things like Piastri simply letting Norris through on track. That would require him being ahead in the first place, however. Unlikely on current form. Other, smaller, actions would be things like Norris having the more favourable qualifying runs every time, rather than alternating, and using Piastri as a strategic blocker in the race, however much it ruins his own result.

Lando Norris (left) on the podium in Las Vegas before being disqualified.

The sacrifices Piastri would make do not need to be enormous, but they could be significant. Let’s say Verstappen was winning in Qatar with 10 laps to go. The McLarens, on a slightly off weekend, are out of the podium spots in fourth and fifth with Piastri ahead. By keeping Piastri in front, the Australian keeps his own title hopes mathematically alive, but remote, heading into the final race. Yet, it also means Norris surrendering 15 points to Verstappen. Depending on the sprint, Norris’s advantage could then be into the single figures with one race left. Asking Piastri to move aside would end his own hopes, but it would also give Norris more of a buffer. It would be silly not to enact this. McLaren need as little pressure on their lead driver as possible.

That is not to say all is lost for Piastri. Yet. The only way he can get back into genuine contention is for Norris to not finish or score just a handful of points in Qatar. If that happened McLaren could then reassess the situation. That would be awkward and not an easy situation to manage but also fair.

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing CEO, has been unequivocal with his views on this issue. He said he would prefer a repeat of the nightmare of 2007. That was when Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen came from a long way back to deny the warring Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton by a single point.